


Wild Cat Chase

by theweddingofthefoxes



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: #roguerobin022, M/M, cat shenanigans, missing pets, ren on the hunt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-03
Updated: 2017-03-03
Packaged: 2018-09-28 03:47:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10069850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theweddingofthefoxes/pseuds/theweddingofthefoxes
Summary: While Hux is sleeping, Ren accidentally lets Millicent out of his quarters. He's going to have to find her and bring her back before Hux wakes up--or before Millicent causes some serious mischief on the Finalizer.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Part 1 story for Rogue Robin 2017. The call sign is #roguerobin022.

Not that he planned to admit this or anything, but Ren had always loved the way Hux looked while he was asleep. The way his hair fell in his face, the way he sometimes smiled when he was having a pleasant dream (surely of some satisfying scene of destruction, of bending the universe to his will, that kind of thing), the way he wasn’t radiating anxious motion. He often overexerted himself, refusing to sleep until he had to, so when he finally made it into bed, he slept hard. And he looked, stars above, he looked so peaceful. 

He would not look peaceful for long if he woke up before Ren had found that damned cat of his. 

Okay, so this was truly, truly not Ren’s fault. Well, it was, in the sense that Ren was responsible, but he hadn’t intentionally let Millicent slip out when he had entered the room. Cats were too smart that way—she’d been poised by the entrance, having memorized the sound of Ren’s footfalls, knowing just when she could leap past the automated door. As soon as Ren entered, she was gone, and Ren froze. He’d barely seen it happen, and he was tired, and part of him wanted to believe that he was just seeing things, weird colors on the edge of his mask’s viewer, a hallucination of orange. 

Hux was asleep in bed, curled up on his side, the soft puff of his breath and the distant ping and beep of his electronics the only sounds in the bedroom. Still in denial, Ren peeked inside the little pod in which Millicent liked to sleep—an extravagance that Hux would only bestow on his spoiled chub of a cat. It was made of some kind of high-quality black nubby material, perfect for scratching, and shaped like an oval with a flat bottom. It was also completely empty. Devoid of cat. _Crap crap crap_.

He knelt down by the bed to look under it—the only other place she could possibly be hiding in Hux’s ultra-sleek, minimalist room—and as he did, Hux stirred. 

“Come on,” Hux said, so soft and sleepy that Ren wasn’t sure whether this was an actual command or sleep talk. Why did this have to happen now, when Ren was on a cat-finding mission? Hux was so uncharacteristically cute that it just about broke his heart. He was reaching up, vaguely in Ren’s direction, beckoning him. 

“Come on?”

“Get in bed with me.”

“Soon. I’m gonna….go get something. I’ll be right back.”

Hux made the sort of noise a toddler who had just been denied ice cream might make moments before throwing a tantrum. “Right back,” Ren promised again, amused despite himself. What a spoiled brat. Too bad it was so much fun spoiling him.

Okay, so the cat was absolutely out of Hux’s quarters. Probably scared, and those damn things were quick on their feet, too. The problem was not whether she’d be found—on a ship this populated, there was no way she wouldn’t be spotted and returned right quick. Millicent had gotten away once before, and Hux had panicked, offering a cash bounty for her return. Some radar tech had returned her and claimed the prize. But in that case, Hux had been the one to accidentally let her out. If someone else found Millicent and came knocking, looking for a reward in exchange for the cat, Hux would 100% know that Ren had been the culprit. Not to mention he’d already wasted enough time before setting out on the search. He probably should have gone after her the second he thought he might have let her out. 

If she knew what was good for her, she’d be right outside the door, pawing to be let back in. But of course she didn’t and she wasn’t. 

Where would she go?

He thought of the day Hux brought her home, she’d been small enough to fit in the palm of his hand. It had floored Ren, seeing him carry the little beast with such care. Was she useful, valuable, maybe? Was she rare? It seemed unlikely that Hux would see value in something that he could not use. But all he would say was “She’s hungry.”

It had sent a little thrill up Ren’s spine, that he might see something inherently useless, a drain, if anything, on his resources, and immediately want it for his own. It did not fail to remind Ren of himself. 

“Go get her something to eat,” Hux had said, waving him off impatiently. “Hurry, go.”

And Millicent did love to eat, that was certain. A droid had been programmed to dispense food for her at exactly the same time each day, twice a day, but she hated waiting. In the hour leading up to her feeding, she would scream, winding around the legs of anyone who was around, and usually Hux relented and offered her a treat.

“The ship lists to whatever side she’s standing on,” Ren complained once, as Hux rubbed her head. “You’re feeding her too much.” 

“It’s rude to remark upon a lady’s weight,” Hux had snapped back. 

As if Hux had ever cared about what was rude before. 

But Millicent’s transparency might be just what Ren needed. Critters were inevitable on a ship this size, they made their way in with deliveries and occasionally bred in the trash area--but between the hyper-vigilant tidiness of Hux and Phasma, vermin was at a minimum. He doubted she had the patience to hunt, anyway, since she’d been so coddled. But there was the mess hall. At this time of the night cycle, it was probably mostly just troopers coming back from missions and technicians on the night shift taking their ‘lunch’ breaks. Still, someone could surely be cojoled into giving a cute little cat a snack, especially if she meowed pitifully. 

The Force, it appeared, was with him. He spotted Millicent rubbing up against the waste bin, probably smelling something tasty. Easy, Ren decided. He’d just draw her forward with the F—

And then she was off, running, down the hall.

How in the galaxy did something so chubby run so fast? He was half-tempted to yank her as hard as he could with his powers, but sending Hux’s cat flying was probably not the best way to prevent his wrath. He sighed, following her down the corridor, just catching sight of her tail slipping around a corner and into a control room. Well, he guessed he could corner her there.

“Millicent,” he called, not sounding particularly enthusiastic. “Millicent, you little monster, come here and I’ll take you back—”

He froze when he entered the control room, not daring to make any sudden moves.

Millicent was sitting about an inch away from a particularly dangerous-looking panel of buttons, her eyes big and unblinking as she watched them blink red and green and blue. She raised her paw, her ears flattened.

“Don’t you dare,” Ren breathed. “Do not…”

She’d picked the biggest, reddest, blinkiest button of all. And mashed her paw right down on it.

**Author's Note:**

> This is maybe one of the crackiest things I've done for this fandom. What a mischievous minx Millicent is!
> 
> Hope everyone is having lots of fun doing Rogue Robin. I know I am!
> 
> Find me on Tumblr at [theweddingofthefoxes](http://theweddingofthefoxes.tumblr.com/). I love seeing new buds!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [The Chase Goes On](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10647663) by [icandrawamoth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/icandrawamoth/pseuds/icandrawamoth)




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